Gaming has become an increasingly important industry in the United States and around the world. In games of chance, a player typically places a wager on one or more games, and receives a payout or loses his wager based on the outcome of the game and/or the wager. Examples of devices for games of chance include, without limitation, video poker gaming machines, mechanical slot machines, and video slot machines. These gaming devices use random numbers to develop game outcomes that can be probabilistically predetermined.
Some of the most popular types of gaming devices are video poker gaming machines. Video poker gaming devices differ from slot-type gaming devices, allowing players to make selections that affect the probability of a winning game outcome. Video poker gaming devices offer a variety of different types of poker games, as well as other types of card games such as Blackjack. Much of the popularity of video poker can be attributed to a player's ability to implement their own strategy in an effort to improve the probability of obtaining a winning game outcome.
Players are constantly looking for new and more exciting games, and the industry constantly searches for games that offer players greater entertainment value. To effectively satisfy video poker players, there is an ongoing need for new games that appeal to video poker players' desire to implement various gaming strategies.